This meme was created for YA Midnight Reads as a discussion post of all things bookish.

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This post is a brief look at how I review books etc.

Which books do I review? I review basically anything from the YA genre. A couple of MG, an occasional NA and a rare Adult.

Do I review every book I read? Reviewing every single book I read, including non-ARCs can be tedious or time-consuming for some people but currently, I review nearly everything I read.

Where do you review? I write my reviews outside because my mum believes I spend way too much time cooped up in my room. Of course, that’s only if I am reviewing on my computer. Due to the fact I cannot touch type and I suck a not making typos, my phone is my ultimate saviour. Many of my bloggy friends think I am some creepo alien when I tell them this. *sobs*

Am I a nice reviewer or picky reviewer? I never really considered myself under any of these categories but I think I go under the picky reviewer column. While I say I’m picky- that does not mean I am being unbelievably irrelevant or dishonest. (Well I hope not… :D)

And lastly, how do I review books? Every single time when I finish reading a book, I will rate it. This rating usually changes after I write my review but I am absolutely OCD about getting my rating over an done with. Writing reviews in general, can be a difficult task. My OCDness makes me review books around exactly 24 hours give or take after reading the book. If I review right after- it’ll be messy and most likebly jumbled. If I review it 2 days later, my short memory will make my review not as helpful or enjoyable.

Nonetheless, three star ratings always make the review 10 times harder to write. Ranting and gushing are hobbies of mine, therefore all my writing motivation just goes- WHOOOSH! When it comes to my so-so reads, I sometimes get sloppy or just giving a half hearted review. I don’t mean to but sometimes that’s just the way it is, unfortunately.

The hardest part to every review is my opening paragraph. I don’t want to seem so repetitve and I don’t want to put all my thoughts there. Sometimes I’ll put some short story of mine and sometimes it’s a brief summary of my thoughts. But the first paragraph has got to grab your readers!

What I write in my reviews tend to cover a summary of the novel, character thoughts and plot. That’s the basis of my reviews though. If I were to be reviewing dystopia, my review would tend to talk more thoroughly about the world building. If it were contemporary, it would be the romance aspect. But of course, I books I love ultimately, I just rant on about how much I love them and how much I despise people who still have not read it.

Melanie is one of the totally fabulous bloggers at YA Midnight Reads. She's a 16 year old student from Melbourne, Australia. She is normally found binge watching TV series, reading , blogging, procrastinating or fangirling about how Percabeth is the best ship ever. She's also a lover of caps lock and uses it excessively.

12 Responses to Discussing Through Midnight (5): Reviewing Books

These are all such good points! I usually write my review right after I read, and I hope that it doesn’t come out too jumbled lol. I should probably write outside more often, because my mom says my complexion is horrible because I’ve been inside, like, constantly. But my backyard is swarmed with bees and mosquitos so I guess THAT is not an option anymore. Three star reviews are the worst things for me, too, because there wasn’t anything I TOTALLY loved and nothing very big that I could say, “This was wrong with the book.” Sigh. It’s a hard life being a book blogger lol.

I definitely agree that the opening paragraph of my reviews are always the hardest to write. I usually summarize the plot in that paragraph, and it’s SO dang hard to do so! Other than that, I really don’t list any plot points. I talk about character development, plot arcs…everything but the plot points themselves, if that makes sense. Thanks for sharing your reviewing style, Melanie 🙂

I don’t think you’re a creepo alien, but writing reviews on a phone is something I have NEVER considered. I don’t think I could. 😀 And I totally agree with you about 3 stars reviews. Anything in the 2.5 to 3.5 category for me is painful to have to talk about. I can hate and love like there’s no tomorrow, but those in-between feelings are always so contradictory and impossible to put into words.Sam @ Realm of Fiction recently posted…Mini-Reviews: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black & Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Great points! I’m so bad at writing reviews on time. I used to be really good about it but now I wait way too long. *sigh* I am a wonderful procrastinator. Don’t worry, Mel, we still love you even if you do write reviews on your phone. Haha. Honestly, I think it’s interesting.Stephanie B recently posted…Review: The Ruins of Gorlan

I also review every book I read and I think I’m more of the nice reviewer. I hardly write snarky/negative reviews, but that can be because I’m good at picking books I probably will like :p It’s sometimes fun to write those though. Interesting to read Mel!Mel@thedailyprophecy recently posted…Review 187. George R.R. Martin – A game of thrones.

Ha dude I’m the same about having the need to rate a book right away. And once in a while the rating will change after I review but it’s rare actually. I think you’re fairly picky – though I would call it critical and honest which is why you’re one of my favorites! I know that when you rate a book 4 or 5 stars it’s worth keeping an eye on – it’s not yet another 5 stars if you know what I mean.Giselle recently posted…Review: The Truth About You and Me by Amanda Grace

This is such a great meme Melanie! I rate and review every single book I read as well, it’s just a habit of mine. And I have to review shortly after I read it too, otherwise I kind of forget about my thoughts! Most of the time they all come streaming out but lately some books have made me think about what I wanted to communicate about it. Great post hun!Jeann @ Happy Indulgence recently posted…Vigilante Nights by Erin Richards Review: About a lame dude bro

I definitely agree with you on the 3 star reviews. It’s hard to write about something you just feel meh about :/ All I can think to say is “Well that was good, I guess…”
Nice discussion post!Stephanie (Hopeless Romantics) recently posted…GIF Survey

Nice discussion. I need to start reviewing my books quicker than I currently do. Sometimes it happens almost right away, but for the most part, there is a bit of gap and I know that’s not the best way to go since I might forget to mention something I really wanted to make note of while reading it. Beyond that, I tend to review most books I read…even if it’s not a review copy. I just like sharing all the different types of books I read and what I thought.ShootingStarsMag recently posted…(Movie Review) The Cornetto Trilogy’s Final Film

Haha yes, I agree with you that the 3 star ratings are the hardest to write! :O I often find myself to be very repetitive when I write 3 star reviews because sometimes I find that there’s nothing for me to say about it. Because I sort of have a meh feeling or lack inspiration to be happy and gush about it or rant. 5 stars and 1 star reviews are always the easiest to write I find.
I also don’t only review ARCs xD I just review what I want and what I like to read!
Great post Melanie!! 😀Emily Drema recently posted…Review: Wings Of Tavea by Devri Walls

I review every book I read, too! It actually bothers me when I don’t. I even review the ones I don’t finish or DNF. If I have enough material, I’ll post a single DNF review and it goes into my archives. If I don’t, I put them in my Books I Didn’t Finish feature 2 or 3 at a time!
Am I a nice reviewer? Hell no I’m not, haha. I’m SO freaking picky! 5 star ratings are few and far between for me, and even books that I really like sometimes only get 4 stars. I’m very stingy with my starfish!
I usually try to review asap, but lately I’ve been slacking on that. I try to get my review post together before I even start the book, that way when I finish I can give it an overall rating and do my breakdown of assessment ratings while it’s still fresh, then write a brief outline of the main points I want to discuss. I also take notes on all the books I read so I can remember things!
And I’m totally the same about ranting and gushing! Meh reviews are extremely hard to write >.<Jessi @ Auntie Spinelli Reads recently posted…Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

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Midnightians

Melanie is a 16 year old student from Melbourne, Australia. She's known as that crazy melodramatic fangirl to her friends and loves spending her time procrastinating, fangirling over Percabeth, wasting her life away on Twitter and reading (duh). Addictions include gummy bears, ice-cream, coffee and binge-watching TV shows. Friends, New Girl, The 100, HTGAWM and Sherlock are her true loves.

Celine is 18 years old and from the Netherlands. She's been a reader for as long as she can remember, and she believes she will be one forever. Though books will forever remain her number one, she also loves food, singing like no one's listening (even though they probably are), dancing like no one's watching (in her dance class, AKA where people are definitely watching) and doodling on every place that can and can't be doodled on.